I was asked by the Sunstone Symposium to speak this Friday, and it has caused me to reflect on how the Internet has changed the LDS Church/Mormonism over the Past 25 Years.
I'm a never-LDS fan of your work. When it comes to the behavior of religious leaders of any stripe, whether LDS leadership, Catholic bishops, megachurch pastors, or the Boy Scouts, I often think of something Jesus said in the gospels--"What's done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops." The internet has made that saying come true in spades. The worst part of many of these controversies is the attempted cover-ups to avoid scandal The internet allows the coverups to be known as well, which compounds the scandal.
Changing the subject, thank you for your work. My father was a Presbyterian pastor during my childhood. While my parents were moderate and thoughtful in their own beliefs, being a child of clergy is its own type of high-demand religion. I have found much wisdom and healing in the stories of your guests.
My benefit from access to internet as related to LDS teachings is access to other argument supporting information provided that enables my own research. Rather than being told the fairy tales clean shaven stories of church and its leaders, substantive writings are referenced and made available or related web sites data given in support of revolutionary topics not commonly known. Others have done so much research that one individual does not have time or resources to pursue on their own. A ‘cult indoctrinated’ member would otherwise have no idea what questions to ask, let alone where answers can be found. Thank you John, you have been instrumental in my journey out of the Cult.
Also the LDS church doing more harm than good with videos like the recent one on polygamy that was intended for children and the stone in the hat with R M Nelson.
I left over 13 years ago and John, you and the workshop with Noah rasheta I attended, plus Mormon stories podcast were instrumental in finding support. It’s STAGGERING to read your summary of changes in the past 25, seemingly most of those in the last decade-ish.
Also, I popped in on Friday when you were speaking at sunstone, but I was there for the MMHA conference so I couldn’t stay long. But it would be nice to chat. I’m a CMHC in Lehi.
The LDS church having such a profound majority in the Utah government is inappropriate. This year, Utah doubled down on not banning child marriage despite the best efforts of Unchained At Last (leading anti-child marriage organization). I wrote an article about how I’m trying to put pressure on the head of PR for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints to have the church leaders showcase support for bills banning child marriage (as they have with other bills in the past). This might be what Utah needs for the abusive practice to end. https://substack.com/@ashlynkatebryson/p-170706922
I'm a never-LDS fan of your work. When it comes to the behavior of religious leaders of any stripe, whether LDS leadership, Catholic bishops, megachurch pastors, or the Boy Scouts, I often think of something Jesus said in the gospels--"What's done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops." The internet has made that saying come true in spades. The worst part of many of these controversies is the attempted cover-ups to avoid scandal The internet allows the coverups to be known as well, which compounds the scandal.
Changing the subject, thank you for your work. My father was a Presbyterian pastor during my childhood. While my parents were moderate and thoughtful in their own beliefs, being a child of clergy is its own type of high-demand religion. I have found much wisdom and healing in the stories of your guests.
My benefit from access to internet as related to LDS teachings is access to other argument supporting information provided that enables my own research. Rather than being told the fairy tales clean shaven stories of church and its leaders, substantive writings are referenced and made available or related web sites data given in support of revolutionary topics not commonly known. Others have done so much research that one individual does not have time or resources to pursue on their own. A ‘cult indoctrinated’ member would otherwise have no idea what questions to ask, let alone where answers can be found. Thank you John, you have been instrumental in my journey out of the Cult.
FARMS very instrumental in the apologetic LDS world. Of course FARMS now defunct.
Also the LDS church doing more harm than good with videos like the recent one on polygamy that was intended for children and the stone in the hat with R M Nelson.
I left over 13 years ago and John, you and the workshop with Noah rasheta I attended, plus Mormon stories podcast were instrumental in finding support. It’s STAGGERING to read your summary of changes in the past 25, seemingly most of those in the last decade-ish.
Also, I popped in on Friday when you were speaking at sunstone, but I was there for the MMHA conference so I couldn’t stay long. But it would be nice to chat. I’m a CMHC in Lehi.
The LDS church having such a profound majority in the Utah government is inappropriate. This year, Utah doubled down on not banning child marriage despite the best efforts of Unchained At Last (leading anti-child marriage organization). I wrote an article about how I’m trying to put pressure on the head of PR for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints to have the church leaders showcase support for bills banning child marriage (as they have with other bills in the past). This might be what Utah needs for the abusive practice to end. https://substack.com/@ashlynkatebryson/p-170706922